The area under a bed is often used as a storage area for many items such as off-season clothing, screens or storm windows, extra table leaves and the like. This area offers a conveniently accessible storage area where such articles can be out of sight and out of mind. Disadvantageously, many times these articles are often visible under the bed leading to an unattractive and cluttered appearance to an otherwise neat bedroom guestroom. Such spaces are also prone to attracting dust, dirt and “dust-bunnies”. Cleaning this under bed storage area properly is often a time consuming and tedious task which requires the removal or shifting of any stored articles. This problem often means that the cleaning tasks are generally not undertaken as often as they should. Such under bed areas area a favorite spot for pets such as dogs and cats who often hide there in response to thunder storms, fire works, or other loud noises. Pets can also hide under the bed when sick or injured making their care even more difficult. This under bed space can also create a tempting hiding or play area for toddlers and small children. Many times the dirt and dust collected in this space is unhealthy for small children and the objects stored under the bed may create a safety hazard for unaware and unfamiliar children. Various solutions to solve these problems have been attempted such as modular storage compartments, drawers, and locker devices. Each of these solutions can create their own disadvantages; including limiting the usable under bed storage area, complicated installation procedures, and heavy and obtrusive construction.
Various attempts have been made in the past to overcome these disadvantages and provide an under bed storage and barricade means without the aforementioned problems. Among the relevant attempts to address these problems are several U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,082,435 and 5,095,566.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,596, issued in the name of Copeland, describe a combined bed frame with storage compartments comprising side rails and end bars which adapt to and secure to the bed frame, lateral supports which adjustable oppose one (1) another and provide a rigid support means to a plurality of storage drawers. The Copeland device is mounted to the underside of the bed frame which creates a combined structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,258, issued in the name of Wallace, describes a mobile under bed storage container which can be situated under the frame of a bed supported off of the ground. The Wallace container comprises a rigid body structure having a bottom, side walls, and an open top; a flexible top cover; and a plurality of caster assemblies for rolling the body structure. The dimensions of the container are less than the overall dimensions of the bed frame.
Additionally, ornamental designs for under bed storage and frame devices exist, particularly, U.S. Pat. No. D 264,889; D 342,393; and D 525,790. However, none of these designs are similar to the present invention.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffers from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which access to the area under a bed can be controlled to address the situations as described above. The development of the present invention fulfills this need.